Maniraptoriformes
Maniraptoriformes is a clade of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs encompassing the ornithomimosaurs and the maniraptorans, the latter group including birds, the only dinosaur lineage still alive today. It is one of the more exclusive subgroups within Coelurosauria, defined as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of Ornithomimus and birds (Holtz, 1996). Its members may have been united by the presence of pennaceous feathers and wings, and one proposed distinguishing trait is feathers homologous to those of modern birds. The grouping Bullatosauria, which united ornithomimosaurs and troodontids, collapses into Maniraptoriformes if that pairing is rejected (Padian and colleagues, 1999).
Clades within Maniraptoriformes
- Arctometatarsalia 25 genera
- Therizinosauria 18 genera
References
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Holtz, T. R. (1996). Phylogenetic taxonomy of the Coelurosauria (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Paleontology 70(3): 536-538. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1017/s0022336000038506
Proposed Maniraptoriformes as a new name for the most recent common ancestor of Ornithomimus and birds and all its descendants.
holtz1996a -
Padian, K.; Hutchinson, J. R.; Holtz, T. R. (1999). Phylogenetic definitions and nomenclature of the major taxonomic categories of the carnivorous Dinosauria (Theropoda). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(1): 69-80.
Noted that Bullatosauria collapses into Maniraptoriformes if ornithomimosaurs and troodontids are not each other's closest relatives.
padian1999a